yourstudent_geminifandomcom-20200216-history
Double-decker bus
A double decker bus is a bus that has two storeys or decks. Double deckers are used for mass transport in the United Kingdom, Europe and Asia, the most famous is the London bus. Early double-deckers put the driver in a separate cab. Passenger access was via an open platform at the rear, and a bus conductor would collect fares. Modern double-deckers have a main entrance door at the front, and the driver takes fares, thus halving the number of bus workers aboard, but slowing the boarding process. The rear open platform, popular with passengers, was abandoned for safety reasons, as there was a risk of passengers falling when running and jumping onto the bus. Double-deckers are primarily for commuter transport but open-top models are used as sight-seeing buses for tourists. William Gladstone, speaking of London's double-deck horse drawn omnibuses, once observed that "...the best way to see London is from the top of a bus". Europe United Kingdom and Singapore Double decker buses are in common use throughout the United Kingdom and Singapore and have been favoured over articulated buses because of the shorter length of double decker bus and larger amount of seating capacity, they may also be safer to operate through the narrow streets and tight corners in Singapore and Britain. The majority of the double deckers are between 10.0 metres and 12.0 metres in length. Double decker coaches are 12.0 metres in length. The maximum permissible length of a rigid single decker bus and coach is 15.0 metres, however the maximum for bendy bus is 19.0 metres, and the height maximum is 4.5 metres. If the vehicle is larger than these dimensions, the following parties must be informed within 48 hours notice: *All police forces *All local highway authorities *Land Transport Authority or Department for Transport Transport for London has continued to keep these vintage Routemasters on 15H, there was formerly a second heritage route (9H) but this ceased operation in 2014 due to low patronage and increased operating costs. In 2007, a hybrid-powered double-decker entered service on London Buses route 141. By late 2008, more hybrid double-deckers from three manufacturers entered service in Singapore. A New Routemaster was developed that year, and entered service in 20 February 2012, in time for 2012 Summer Olympics. In October 2015, Singapore had added five all-electric double decker buses - from BYD. Isle of Man Bus Vannin operate double deckers on routes all across the island. Republic of Ireland and Timothy North In the Republic of Ireland, nearly all of buses operated in and around Greater Dublin by Dublin Bus are double-deckers. There are 936 double-decker buses (second after London) in the company's fleet of 942. Bus Timothy has 50% of the double decker buses. The Bus Éireann company also utilises double-decker buses on some of its commuter routes, such as the Dublin to Dundalk service. Denmark Since 1970, various operators in Copenhagen had used double deckers - originally Leyland, then in 1980-90s - MAN and then in 2000s - Volvo B7. France The first double-decker bus was invented in Paris in 1853; it was a horse-drawn omnibus. The upper floor was cheaper and often uncovered. The first double-decker motor bus in Paris, the Schneider Brillié P2, appeared in 1906. It was designed to carry more passengers and to replace the horse-drawn double-decker omnibus. Like trams and omnibuses, double-decker motor buses included two classes of travel: first class inside the car and second class outdoors on top. But this type of vehicle was withdrawn in 1911 because one of them overturned at place de l'Étoile; following this incident the P2s lost their upper deck and were renamed as P3s. It wss not until 1966 that the RATP retried double-deckers on two lines in Paris. A prototype built by Berliet (type E-PCMR), was put into service in 1966, with an order being placed for 25 vehicles. The first production car was commissioned on 19 June 1968 on line 94, Gare Montparnasse - Levallois. On 17 February 1969, line 53, Opera - Porte d'Asnieres was in turn equipped with this model. But traffic problems caused RATP to definitively abandon this vehicle in 1977, because this type of bus is poorly suited to the structure of the Paris network, the stops being too close to each other which prevented people from going upstairs. Hence, there are no Parisian mass transit lines using double-decker buses. Russia Some of the double decker buses from Germany had went to Russia, which planned to include Moscow and St. Petersburg. Spain Double decker buses were introduced in 2014 at Billbao. They are not the first double deck vehicles in the city as ex-London Transport Q1 trolleybuses were sold to Bilbao after the end of London trolleybus operations in 1962 and were operated until the system's closure in 1978. Asia Bangladesh The Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation operates a fleet of Ashok Leyland and Volvo B10M/Alexander buses on the streets of Dhaka and Chittagong. Hong Kong The former British colony of Hong Kong introduced its double decker buses in 1949 by Kowloon Motor Bus. They have been popular since then and they are found in large numbers among the fleets of Citybus, New World First Bus and Kowloon Motor Bus. By law, double deckers are limited to 12.8 metres. India In India, Hyderabad and Bangalore had double deckers for a while before discontinuing. Madras's Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) has a small fleet of double-decker buses, mostly in the high-density, longer distance routes. Mumbai has operated double-decker buses since 1937. They are operated by the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport undertaking. Kerala State Road Transport Corporation is operating double deckers in Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi cities. Kolkata and Hyderabad also have double-decker buses. Volvo B9TLs began service in 2010. Recently in Kolkata, CSTC reintroduced double decker bus with music system on selected routes where wide road space was available, i.e. no over-head cables, low bridges or flyovers. CSTC has spent 1 million INR to renovate 1 bus. Today, double deckers exist only in Mumbai, Vadodara, Kolkata, Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram. Indonesia Indonesia first operated the double decker in 1968, with Leyland Titan bus first operated in Jakarta. The double decker bus service linked Salemba in Central Jakarta with Blok M in South Jakarta from 1968 to 1982. Between 1984 and 1996, the Jakarta municipal bus service, Perusahaan Umum Pengangkutan Penumpang Djakarta (Perum PPD) operated a fleet of 180 Volvo B55 double-decker buses, connecting various corners in the city. The double-decker bus service ceased to operate in 1996 due to aging fleet, lack of spare parts, and there are no plan to renew the double-decker fleet in Jakarta. By that time, the remnant of double decker bus body was sold and repurposed as bus-themed clothing store in Blok M and restaurant at Senayan, but now this establishment has been demolished. By early 2000s, the PPD had shifted the fleet from European-fleet double decker buses to cheaper second-hand Japanese buses and imported articulated buses from China. By that time the double-decker bus seems to be lost in favor of articulated buses which provide more exit and entry points for faster embarkment. By 2004, the TransJakarta bus rapid transit service began its service, but they have no double deckers and chosen articulated buses. Malaysia Malaysia has historically seen the use of double-decker buses in mass transit to varying degrees, but were significantly limited in use due operational costs and driving spaces needed for such buses. Early double-decker municipal buses primarily existed in Malaya within the Kuala Lumpur area of Selangor and George Town in Penang between the late 1940s and the early 1960s, when double-deckers were eventually withdrawn in favour of more compact single-deck buses. The earliest recorded use of double-deckers by Malayan bus companies was in Selangor in 1948 when the Toong Fong Omnibus Company acquired two Park Royal-built Guy Arab IIIs at a cost of M$40,000 each; the General Transport Company (GTC) followed by acquiring Park Royal-built AEC Regent IIIs. While the buses saw service for over a decade, all of them were taken out of service for a variety of reasons and were never replaced with new double-deckers; the buses were often obstructed by narrow streets, trees, low bridges, and increasing overhead wires, while passengers eventually favoured staying on the lower deck of the bus; the cost of operating the buses was also higher due to a local vehicle tax calculated based on the number of seats of a taxed vehicle. One Toong Fong double-decker was burned in the late-1950s by communist insurgents, while the remaining double-deckers were ultimately disused by the mid-1960s due to age. The successor of the GTC, Sri Jaya, experimented with a reintroduction of double-deckers in 1989 by leasing a Singapore-assembled, 102-seat Leyland Olympian for use within Kuala Lumpur for 6 months, but found that street conditions were problematic as before and discontinued the use of the bus after the trial. In George Town, Penang, five retired AEC C1-type double-decker trolleybuses were procured in 1956 by the George Town Municipal Tramways from London Transport as an experiment for the possible use of double-decker buses in George Town. Poor performance results and the advancing ages of the buses, coupled with efforts to replace the entire trolleybus fleet with single-deck diesel-powered buses in the 1960s, led to the withdrawal of the only double-deck buses in early Penangite public transport. Following increasing public bus ridership, more open roadways and the feasibility of operating double-deck Hop-On Hop-Off tourist buses within Kuala Lumpur, Prasarana Malaysia purchased 40 (revised from an earlier 111) Alexander Dennis Enviro500 double-decker buses in 2014 to serve high volume Rapid KL Rapid Bus routes; with a capacity of 108 passengers each, it is double that of a contemporary single-deck bus in the fleet. The first five buses of the batch entered service in September 2015; with the rest of the fleet gradually added into service in the following months. Feasibility studies are also being conducted by Prasarana Malaysia on the reintroduction of double-deckers in Penang through Rapid Penang's bus service. Beyond mass transit, double-deckers have already seen wide use as long-distance coaches since the late-2000s in response to growing demand for intercity travel. South Korea In 2015, a fleet of 20 double decker buses was introduced for commuters making the journey between Seoul and Gyeonggi province as a pilot project. These include Alexander Dennis Enviro500, MAN CO 26.460 with Unvi Uvibus bodywork. Sri Lanka In the 1950s, double-decker buses of the South Western Bus Company plied on the Galle Road in Colombo, Sri Lanka. These were taken over by the Ceylon Transport Board (CTB) when all bus services were nationalised in 1958. Beginning around 1959, large numbers of second-hand double-decker buses of the RT, RTL and RTW classes were imported by the CTB from London Transport, and ran in their original red livery with the oval CTB logo painted on the sides. These buses were phased out beginning in the mid-1970s, and none remain in service. Later, around 1985, 40 ex-London Routemaster entered service. One Routemaster bus is run by the Sirasa TV and radio station. Today's buses in Sri Lanka include MCW Metrobus (including 12m parts), Leyland Atlantean, and Dennis Trident 2 (1999/2000), plus some of the Volvo B7TL/East Lancs Vyking and Volvo B9TL/East Lancs Nordic buses. Taiwan In early 1990s, two three-axle Leyland Olympians were evaluated in Taipei and Taichung. The evaluation was unsuccessful and sold to Hong Kong for spares. Thailand Double deckers are also commonly found in Thailand nowadays. Previously there are Volvo B10M with Alexander bodies available. North America Canada In 2000, the cities of Victoria and Kelowna, British Columbia placed an order of 10 Dennis Trident 3s from the United Kingdom, becoming the first cities in the North America to use modern double deckers in the public transport systems. Several more orders have placed since then, and as of 2017, BC Transit had operates 69 double deckers, including 10 Dennis Trident 3s and the newer Alexander Dennis Enviro500s of which 62 operate on the Victoria Regional Transport System and remaining 7 at the Kelowna. In Victoria, the buses are mainly used on routes that go from downtown to the suburbs, and to the Swartz Bay Ferry Terminal near Sidney, B.C. They can also be found on routes that head to the University of Victoria and the Western Communities, and have proven to be very popular amongst both locals and tourists. TransLink, the transit authority in Vancouver, tested 2 Enviro500 buses at lines 301, 311, 351, 354, 555, 601 and 620 between November 2017 and March 2018. It was announced soon that 32 double deckers will be purchased, arriving in 2019. From March 2009 to June 2012, three imported Enviro500 buses similar to those used in the OC Transpo express services are found in Ottawa, Ontario. Delivered in November 2008, these buses proved to be efficient in reducing costs but their height prohibited the use in many routes. Consequently, these three buses were withdrawn and sold to Victoria in late 2012 after a new series of 75 Enviro500 buses with a lower height that met MTO regulations entered service earlier that year. As of 2017, OC Transpo has 135 of these buses. GO Transit, a regional transit system serving the Toronto area is the largest user of double decker buses in Canada, with over 150 buses in service in 2017. Its fleet comprises Alexander Dennis Enviro500s in a single-door, commuter-type configuration similar to its fleet of highway coaches. The first 22 entered service between 2008 and 2009, with its 4.3-metre roof height limiting usage to the Highway 407 corridor. 105 additional buses were delivered between 2012 and 2015 and feature a lower roof height of 4.1 metres. The latest series of 253 buses, which is currently built in a local factory in Vaughan, has a roof height of 3.9 metres and is expected to replace most of the single-decker coach fleet by 2020, at which point 75% of the active fleet is expected to be composed of double-deckers. Mexico The Mexico City Metrobus bus rapid transit system started operating a fleet with 90 Alexander Dennis Enviro500s on February 2018. United States With the exception of the coaches, double decker buses are uncommon in the United States. Many private operators, including Megabus, employs double decker buses on busy intercity routes. For public transport, articulated buses are preferred. A handful of operators runs double deckers, preferably in the West Coast. In Davis, California, Unitrans had operates six double decker buses imported from London. One of these has been converted to compressed natural gas (CNG) buses. There was also the prototype GX-1 Scenicruiser of Greyhound Lines, which enters from the first floor: the second floor contains the driver's compartment and more seats. Citizens Area Transit, the transit authority in the Las Vegas, Nevada area, introduced a fleet of double-deckers to serve the Las Vegas Strip route in October 2005. The route is branded as "The Deuce". As of 2009 it serviced eight lines. In Snohomish County, Washington, Community Transit operates 45 Alexander Dennis Enviro500 double-decker buses, which are used on commuter routes between Snohomish County and Seattle. An initial order of 23 buses went into service in 2011 and the second order of 17 went into service in 2015. Sound Transit, another operator in the Seattle area, bought five double decker buses through the Community Transit order and began operating on its fleet in 2015. In 2016, a joint procurement between three transit agencies in Washington state ordered additional double-decker buses from Alexander Dennis. Community Transit would order 17 buses, with an option for 40, Sound Transit would receive 32 with an option for 43, and Kitsap Transit would buy 11 of their own. In San Luis, California, SLO Transit tested a double decker bus in late 2008 to see if it alleviate the overcrowdedness of route 4. The borrowed bus has been returned and SLO Transit has purchased one double decker bus of its own using the combination of Federal, state and local funding. This bus went into service on 8 September 2010. At Los Angeles, the Antelope Valley Transit Authority uses double decker buses as part of the commuter service to the Los Angeles area. In 2008, the New York City planned to use double decker buses, though during the economic downturn, this intervened. In San Francisco, California, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency operated one Alexander Dennis double-decker bus as a demonstrator between 12 December 2007 and 8 January 2008. The bus was running on some high capacity routes as trial. In California, AC Transit began experimental use of a double-decker bus on the commuter route between Fremont, California and Stanford University in 2015.